The days of the British Empire are so far behind us that they cease to be a distant memory.

But England (and the other parts of the UK) still think that they’ve got some ummph left in them, that they are of some value to the US (which is now beginning to have to imagine life one day as a non-super power). The sad fact is that England is a middle-aged, middle-ranking country, well passed its prime, on the outskirts of the European Union, which itself is middle-aged and middle-ranking.

The new kids on the block are beginning to find their feet, and they don’t care to hear stories of England’s glory days when they whooped Germany at two world wars and world cup.

That is not to say that England won’t be a fairly comfortable place to live for some time to come (though certainly less… Read more